1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to automated inventory systems, in general, and specifically to an automated inventory system that produces a reorder signal when the level of stock items contained within a particular bin drops below a reorder threshold. The reorder signal may be communicated to other system components via hardwired and/or wireless connections.
2. Description of the Related Art
In most industrial operations, supplies are stored in centrally located storerooms, tool cribs or lockers. These supplies are manually requisitioned and taken to a work area to be used. The removal of these supplies is later input into an inventory system, often manually. Due to the inherent lag between removal and input, the inventory data is rarely up-to-date.
Thus frequently supplies that appear to be available on the inventory system may actually have been already used. When supplies reach critically low levels, they have to be reordered on an expedited or emergency basis, often at a premium, to minimize disruption of the work flow. The alternative is to maintain inventory at an unnecessarily high level, which increases overhead costs and decreases cash flow.
As long as inventory data is updated in an auditing manner, i.e., post use; it cannot reflect the actual availability of supplies. This shortcoming is exacerbated by increases in the turnover rate of supplies. When the turnover of supplies is slow compared to the lag, the probability of critical shortages is small. However, as the turnover of supplies increases, so does the lag because more inventory data have to be input, thereby increasing the likelihood that supplies that appear as available on the inventory system have already been used. Thus the frequency of critical shortages also increases.
A number of inventory systems currently exist that detect exact inventory levels within a dispensing unit and communicate the inventory data to a system that is configured to automatically reorder stocked items when the inventory drops below a predetermined level. However, such systems are too expensive for certain applications in which automatic indication of the need to reorder inventory is desired, but precise, real time inventory information is not necessary. For example, existing automated systems typically are too expensive for applications involving regularly used stocked items having a relatively low unit cost (e.g., nuts, bolts, washers, etc.).